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Description

The electrochemical waves underlying each heartbeat can be modeled as traveling wave solutions in excitable media. The reaction-diffusion systems that describe these waves range from minimal, low-dimensional models to high-dimensional, biophysically-detailed models. In general, traveling wave solutions in these systems cannot be computed analytically, necessitating the use of suitable numerical methods. However, while existing numerical approaches are sufficient for computing traveling waves in the low-dimensional models, they are inadequate for the high-dimensional biophysical models. In this work, we develop a new software tool, TWIST, for efficient and robust computation of traveling wave solutions and their stability using novel numerical algorithms in high-dimensional models. We then use these methods to uncover several fundamental differences between traveling waves in highly-idealized models and biophysical models of cardiac tissue.

*** This is Vincent's GGAM PhD Exit Seminar. ***

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